Five sticks of explosives have been found and made safe in a top Paris department store, French police say.
The Printemps Haussmann store was evacuated and cordoned off, and police directed traffic away from the area.
French news agency AFP received a letter signed by a group calling itself the Afghan Revolutionary Front, warning of "several bombs" placed in the store.
President Nicolas Sarkozy urged caution in reacting to the incident. There was no detonator linked to the explosives.
"All we can do is to be prudent and moderate," Mr Sarkozy said at a news conference in the European Parliament.
Unknown group
Officials said the explosives, planted in washrooms on several floors, were first located by sniffer dogs.
They consisted of old sticks of dynamite held together with a piece of cord, according to an officials quoted by news agency AFP.
"Based on what we know, it was not a device that was set to explode. We are going to carry out an investigation to find the perpetrators," AFP quoted Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie as saying at the scene.
The Afghan Revolutionary Front is a previously unknown group.
"If you do not send someone to intervene before Wednesday December 17, they will explode," said its letter, which was taken by police investigating the explosives.
"Send the message to your president that he must withdraw his troops from our country before the end of February 2009 or else we will take action in your capitalist department stores and this time, without warning."
France has about 2,600 troops serving with Nato in Afghanistan, after reinforcements were sent earlier this year.
In a video broadcast last November, a Taleban military leader, Faruq Akhun Zadeh, warned that "our reaction will be heard in Paris" if the troops were not withdrawn.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Muslims Attempt To Bomb Paris Store?
A note from the Afghan Revolutionary Front would indicate that it is so. But, there were no detonators found. And, who has ever heard of the Afghan Revolutionary Front.
Strange.
The name smacks of Leftism, and yet, if this is not the work of Jihadists, one must question who would try to frame Muslims? Certainly not Leftists, who more often find themsevles aligned with Islamofascists.
But, this Leftist language could be a new effort by Taliban-types to reach out to their Leftist friends. After all, it is my opinion that the recent Greek riots were a joint effort between Leftists and Jihadists. (Note that I say that having no evidence, only suspicion based upon the fact that I simply don't believe Leftists can sustain the energy for extended rioting.)
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10 comments:
One of the things that worries me, Pastorius, (and for heaven's sakes people this is not an accusation nor any kind of trooferism) is that as rifts widen in this country and others, some EXTREMELY EXTREME rightwing dirtbags will try something, bomb a mall etc and try to blame it on some obscure Muslim group just to fan the flames. The flames are hot enough, I wouldn't want someone like that pouring gasoliine on them.
That said, this could be an extension/continuation of what was started in Mumbai although it doesn't seem like it. Yet.
midnight rider
I tend to agree with you on this one, if muslims where behind this, then we would be seeing a lot of dead bodies
Shiva -- exactly. Again, no accusations but I doubt the "Afghan Liberation Front" would plant bombs and then let it be tipped off. The Jihadis don't work that way. They specialize in blood and terror and we'd be seeing a body count.
Here in the U.S. I could see someone like a David Duke trying this, blame the muslims and start the blowback, riots etc.
The Jihadis will get to that soon enough on their own.
MR and Shiva,
It looks like we're all in agreement on this one. We don't think this is the work of Muslims.
In fact, I think it is exactly what MR said in his first comment. I believe this is the work of right-wingers.
Right. And it's a goddamn shame that we now have to keep an eye on non-jihadis trying to act like jihadis. Like we ain't got enough to worry about.
midnight rider/Pastorius
I disagree, I think it is the work of left-wingers, who want the blame to be put onto right-wingers
Okay this is nothing to play games with.
Both sides are capable to use bombs
First we have
David John Copeland a former member of the British neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement, who became known as the "London nailbomber" after a 13-day bombing campaign in April 1999 aimed at London's black, Bangladeshi and gay communities.
Then we have
In 1983, a bomb exploded at Harrods in London, killing six, including three police officers, and wounding 75. The terrorists responsible were Jan Taylor and Patrick Hayes. Hayes was also the East London organiser of Anti-Fascist Action! When the police swooped on his Hackney flat they found AK47 assault rifles, ammo and bomb making equipment.
So what we basically have are extremists on both sides of the divide that become so extreme that they become identical.
Shiva -- I was speaking more in generalities in my original comments. In this particular case I can see where the left would do this to force the right to pull out. I don't see where they would gain by having the blame for placing the bombs themselves put on the right, but to force the right to pull out & blaming some Jihadis for placing the bombs I can see. Although it depends on what the real motivation was here.
My bigger concern is if someone places bombs here, and they go off. Then try to blame it on the Jihadis to get this thing going full blown while causing major civil disruption here and violent civilian backlash against the muslims.
That I could sooner see the American right extremists doing. The left here tends to take credit (Weather Underground etc) when they want to make a point. And would not want to start this war fullblown.
But in the end, the more extreme they each get the more they look alike (someone just wrote that somewhere but can't remember where I saw it).
I rather wait for the investigation to give an opinion. In Spain, ETA normally alerts some hours ago that a bomb is going to explode here and there. They can have copied that.
In another piece of news, French terrorist agency has arrested 7 alleged Islamists in Paris:
France's domestic counterterrorism agency arrested seven people around Paris and was questioning them Tuesday on suspicion that some may have been planning an attack, a police official said.
The arrests were not linked to the discovery Tuesday of explosives in a Paris department store, nor were they tied to suspected al-Qaida-linked extremists detained last week in Belgium, said the official. She spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to discuss the case publicly.
The principal suspect arrested Tuesday, who is French, was already known to the French domestic intelligence agency, while the others in detention were regarded as "accessories" — including family and friends, the official said. Some are of North Africa origin.
The official said French authorities believe the main suspect "intended to commit an action, probably in France," although it wasn't exactly clear what the action might be.
The official described the arrests as "preventive" and said police hoped to learn more through questioning.
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